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Sunday, April 8, 2012

Who's responsible?

I was having a conversation with my husband’s aunt about
schools. She was telling me about
how people in her district were suggesting that the school provide breakfast
for the students. The school in
which I used to work had a breakfast program while I was there. The students would have to run around
the oval a couple of times and then got some cereal for their effort. On the
one hand this is a good idea. It
promotes healthy eating and exercise and it give’s the kids a chance at a good
brekky who would otherwise have not gotten anything at home. My issue is: why aren’t they getting a
good breakfast at home? Is it
really the school’s responsibility to promote healthy eating? When I was teaching in town I would see
students walking to school with a can of coke and a bag of lollies. This disturbs me. One of the subjects I was teaching at
the time was Health, but clearly explaining the benefits of healthy eating and
the effects different foods had on the human body was not enough. The message was lost.

Another gripe I regularly hear is parents complaining that
their children are not being taught manners in school. Is that really the job of the
teachers? If so, what role do the
parents play in their children’s education? It appears to me that parents are giving over their power as
parents to the state and expecting schools to teach their children everything
they need to know…. About everything.
At the same time, they are telling their kids, “The teachers can’t make
you do anything, so you just do what you want.” There are mixed signals here. And it is no wonder that our kids are slipping through the
cracks.

As a new parent and a former teacher, I have a unique
perspective about what I can expect from schools and education for my
child. I know that schools have no
power to discipline kids and no real ability to tailor programs to suit my
child’s needs if they differ significantly from mainstream education. Teachers only get the children for a
short period each day and for the rest of the time they are in their parents’
care. Can parents really expect
teachers to have more influence over their children than they do
themselves? And for that matter,
why do they want them to?

For my part I’d like to urge parents to take back
responsibility for their children’s education…all aspects of it. If you want your child to grow up with
a certain set of values, then model these for them and encourage your children
to learn them. If you don’t think
that the school is doing a good enough job at teaching your child reading or
mathematics, then don’t complain and threaten, pick up the slack and read with
your children and encourage mathematical calculations at home.

If we, as parents, take back our power and realise that it
is our responsibility alone to provide an education for our children, then the
schools can resume their place. By
this I mean the school is merely a resource that you can use to assist you in
the education of your children. It
is a good resource but not a complete one and certainly not the only one you
have. Once you realise this fact, a whole new freedom opens up for you and your
kids. Take an interest. Take back your power and your
responsibility. I’m sure that the
education process will be far more rewarding when you do.